What’s new: Chinese teahouse chain Heytea has taken down its controversial new drink with Buddhist elements from its online and brick-and-mortar stores after being summoned by the Shenzhen municipal religious affairs bureau.
On Nov. 28, the Shenzhen-headquartered company unveiled a tea latte co-branded with the Jingdezhen China Ceramics Museum. The “Hey Buddha” drink came in cups bearing images of three arhat statues on display at the museum.
Less than a week later, it was discovered the new drink and its packages were no longer available, followed by media reports that Heytea had pulled them over religious concerns and the company had been summoned by the Shenzhen religious affairs bureau for alleged violations.
On Wednesday, a staff member of the bureau confirmed to Caixin that the authority spoke with Heytea’s representatives last Friday after receiving complaints from the public but did not elaborate. They also said that Heytea withdrew the products in question on its own volition and they “had not yet determined the nature” of the matter.
The background: China’s multiple religious management regulations prohibit co-branded consumer products from using religion in commercial promotions, Mao Yijing, a lawyer at Beijing-based law firm Lantai Partners, told Caixin.
Heytea had exploited loopholes in the regulations to skirt around them, so authorities “can only summon them now,” another staff member at the Shenzhen religious affairs bureau told the Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper. But “their company was very cooperative and has a good attitude in admitting their mistakes,” they added.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com)
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